Allures
by frays
Summary: (AU, set in the mid eighteen hundreds.) When the Forbes family loses all they have in a fire, the only way out of poverty is to sell off their beautiful daughter, Caroline Forbes to the rich man, Niklaus Mikaelson. Her plan to rid him of his money and run is stilted when she finds a glimpse of the dark, long Mikaelson history she is dying to see. (Klaroline)
1. 01

**AU, set in the mid eighteen hundreds. **

The basic **plot: When the Forbes family loses all they have in a fire, the only way out of poverty is to sell off their beautiful daughter, Caroline Forbes to the rich man, Niklaus Mikaelson. Her plan to rid him of his money and run is stilted when she finds a glimpse of the dark, long Mikaelson history she is dying to see. **

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The flames licked gently the remains of what used to be the Forbes mansion, easing their way into the beautiful hardwood that surrounded the house and breaking down the only home Caroline Forbes had ever known.

And just like that, years of playing and happy memories were burnt away, lost with the ashes that picked up in the gentle wind and blew outwards away from the mansion and into her gently curled light blonde hair. The natural curls picked up in the wind and blew away from her light-skinned face, flying away from her as she looked down and away from the burnt house.

The memories washed away with the fire, making the beautiful girl feel emptier with every breath of the unruly wind, cold against her skin.

"Caroline, come inside." She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder and turned, peering through to the one trying to comfort her. Her blue eyes flickered up to meet the ones of a William Forbes, and she sighed as her father pulled her into his arms, something he did scarcely.

William Forbes lived with her, and he had raised her, but the man had never been close to the eighteen-year-old girl.

Money was his life, and he had always preferred to spend a day out and working rather than coming home to spend time with his daughter. When he was home, he was working from there, planning and organizing ways to make himself even more rich when he was at home with his family.

Elizabeth Forbes was not close to William either—she distanced herself from him when he was present, but she didn't dare ask for a divorce—she knew that their family would drown without the rich man, and stayed with him for the sake of money.

Now, the Forbes fortune was burnt to the ground, and they had nothing.

She felt a splatter of water fall onto her bare shoulder, and she knew her father was crying—the man would never cry over the pain of his family or the grief of her or her mother; their fortune was the only thing that would make tears come to his eyes.

She hated the fortune, but she needed it at the same time. None of the Forbes would be able to make it thrown out onto the streets, but that seemed to be all they could do now.

Their fortune was inside the burnt house; the fortune was now nothing but smoldering flames and black-grey ashes.

There was so much she could hardly bear to think of; there were too many memories and symbols of her childhood, the only happy time of her life that were now forever gone, lost in the winds of ashes and smoldering flames.

She could easily break down, but she didn't for fear that her showing her longing for her childhood would bring a more grieved distant father longing for his money.

She was used to her father loving his fortune more than her, but she didn't know if she could bear to hear him speak the words that rung as clearly as an echoing bell in her mind.

She pulled away from her fathers embrace; she ran to Tyler.

She could feel her fathers eyes burning on her back as clearly as she could feel her heavy full skirts swirling around her ankles, not made for running. She nearly stumbled with every light-footed step she took, but she didn't care—she wanted to be as far from her father as she could possibly could, and she wanted to be as close to Tyler as she could.

She wanted to kiss him; she wanted her lips to fall upon his and him to fall on top of her, making her forget slowly anything that was wrong or troubled in her life the way he always could so well.

A life without Tyler was more difficult to imagine than a life without riches, without her father, without safety and shelter. She loved Tyler more than she did her father—he made her feel safe always. He made her feel like she could never be harmed, and he made her feel like there was nothing that could faze her.

When they kissed, there was a drop of passion she felt lacking, but she had learned to live with the knowledge that nothing would be _exactly_ as it was in fairy tales.

Tyler was her prince lacking a suit of shining armor, a prince that greeted Caroline with open arms, wrapping his arms around her small waist and easily lifting her, spinning her once before setting her down, leaning down to press his lips against hers, using the pads of his fingers to brush his fingertips against her cheek, letting his body press against hers as he used the other hand to push the door closed so he could kiss her better, swarmed by more privacy than they had had prior.

He moved her away from him, looking at her and running a hand through her hair lightly, frowning as he seemed to smell the air, something that was always a bit of a strange habit of his.

His fingers ran through her hair, catching a small fleck of ash that had blown to her calm, clean hair. He frowned, still fingering her fine hair lightly.

"Why do you have ash in your hair?"

"It's nothing."

"It seems like something—to my knowledge, you don't bathe in ashes every day."

"Why does it bother you? Do I smell badly of ash?" She asked, unable to smell it herself, but her boyfriend had always had a peculiarly good sense of smell.

"No—I'm just curious."

"I'm _fine_, Tyler. There was just…a little fire."

"Where?" He had been placing kisses along her neck when he had asked, but he pulled quickly away from her at her words, looking startled. He frowned lightly,

"I didn't hear about that—where was that?"

"My house. It's fine, Tyler."

"What?" His eyes were both confused and angry at an invisible target, something that confused the little blonde girl.

"My house burnt down, but it's fine—it'll distract my dad, won't it?"

Caroline pulled Tyler back close to her, but he took a step away, looking at her as though she was crazy.

"Caroline, this isn't 'fine.' You don't have anywhere to live."

"I can stay with you, can't I?"

"I'm not sure—I—I don't think so." Tyler looked slightly alarmed at the prospect.

"Tyler, you're being weird and mysterious again." The tone of the blonde girl was light, but a strong part of her wasn't joking.

He had always become like this whenever she had mentioned living with him, always acting like he had something serious to hide from the eighteen-year-old girl. She had always found strange items hidden in house—she had found a smooth, round stone a clear/white color, and she had noticed late at night he smelled of fur, like the puppies her distant neighbors always had. It wasn't _too_ unpleasant to her, but strange.

A few nights a month, he wouldn't be home.

She always kept her suspicions that there was something strange about her suitor to herself, but it was a constantly a troubling thought in the back of her mind keeping her from feeling _too_ safe with the attractive man.

"I'm not being 'mysterious', Caroline—I just think that we should wait a few years before we start building out life together." He said smoothly, wrapping his arms about her waist as though to distract her from remembering what they were speaking of, something that never worked with the feisty blonde girl. She only frowned, pulling away from him enough so that their eyes could meet and she could look him in they eyes.

"Why wait? We're both young, but we aren't too young to marry, and I don't have anywhere to go. Why don't we make it work?"

"You know why, Caroline. I don't make enough to provide for the both of us, but I will. Trust me."

"Then let's leave Mystic Falls."

"Pardon?"

"Let's leave Mystic Falls, Tyler. We could do it. We could go away, somewhere cheaper and safer. We could leave everyone behind—we could make a new life. Just us."

"You wouldn't be able to leave Bonnie and Elena, Caroline. And it isn't certain that we'd be able to make it anywhere but Mystic Falls."

"Tyler—"

"Caroline. We both have unfinished business here—we can't leave now. If we run away now, we'll never be able to come back."

"Why not?"

"People rarely leave Mystic Falls, Caroline. People will remember if we leave, and they'll know when we come back. We won't be welcomed. You won't be able to be with your friends ever again, and you won't be able to see your family."

"William doesn't care for me; Elena and Bonnie don't need me."

"_You_ need them, Caroline, and they do need you."

It troubled Caroline how desperate he was to not run from Mystic Falls, but she knew her boyfriend could be as stubborn as she, and she knew that there was no use arguing with him this way—no one would win, and no one would be pleased with the result of the fight.

"Fine. We'll stay. But, Tyler—where am I going to go?" Caroline's voice was suddenly soft as she looked up at her suitor, feeling a bit lost, and completely defenseless in his arms.

"You can stay with the Gilbert family—they have a fortune that can near match yours, and Elena will take you. She cares about you."

"All right."

She leaned upwards, standing on her toes so that she could kiss Tyler, closing her eyes as her arms went about his neck. His arms tightened where they were about her small waist, running along her small body to her gentle hips, pulling them against his own and rocking lightly against them as his tongue flickered across her soft lips, asking for and taking leeway against her vanilla-flavored mouth.

Tyler pushed her lightly against the wall, his hands trailing up the bodice of her dress, finding the lace ribbons that laced her corset dress together, nimbly loosening them as he had done so many times before, letting his hand slip underneath her corset, finding their way to some soft spot quickly.

He always moved too quickly, acting as though she would be ripped away from him. He was never gentle with her; he pulled her away from comfort in a way that was disconcerting to the blonde girl.

She hated this about Tyler.

Caroline gently pulled away from him, struggling slightly to send the message to the Lockwood as she took a step back from him, lacing up the bodice of her dress quickly and smiling sweetly at her boyfriend.

"I need to go see Elena, Tyler—I'll come later tonight?"

"I'm—I'm busy tonight." He said, pausing for a moment as though to try and remember something, glancing outside for a moment. "Maybe tomorrow, Caroline?"

"Of course."

Caroline excused herself, kissing him lightly and leaving his house, glancing up and down the streets at where she was, and how to find her way to her close friends house.

She walked more slowly than she should have, letting her eyes fall along the houses and bare streets she walked past, looking along the uniquely yet similarly styled house that passed her slow steps, her mind feeling a bit more blank than it had in a while.

Her friend greeted her happily when Caroline finally arrived at the house her friend was reading on a bench in front of. Elena stood, hugging her friend with a look of sympathy in her eyes.

"Caroline, I'm _so_ sorry." Elena knew quickly—she was one of the more-well known people in the town, and she knew exactly when anything happened.

The beautiful brunette girl was always the talk of the town, people always whispering behind her of her beauty and whether or not she would accept the hand of a man who would try to court her. Because Bonnie Bennett was engaged to the younger man of the Gilbert family by the name of Jeremy and Caroline was madly in love with Tyler, Elena received only more attention than she normally would have from men.

"Could I stay with you?" Next to Elena, Caroline suddenly felt like she were about to cry, her sympathetic friend letting her feel a vulnerability to how unprotected she was that she hadn't felt when she was with her father or with Tyler.

"Of course."

"Thank you," She whispered, burying her head into her friends shoulder, slightly taller than the brunette girl and having to lean slightly to do so.

"What about Tyler?"

"He didn't have enough money, or something of the sort." Caroline frowned, shaking her head—she wasn't exactly sure _what_ he was always doing or busy with, but it annoyed Caroline endlessly, and it troubled her. She _hated_ feeling out of control, and she hated this feeling of being away from the truth when it came to Tyler.

Caroline had wondered time and time again if Tyler was cheating on her, but the pattern of his disappearances was much more specific, and she knew her boyfriend wouldn't go to such extreme lengths to cover up something as simple as cheating on her.

It still troubled her.

"Well, then we can stay together."

"I'm afraid you two can't." The familiar voice of Caroline's father came through the two, and they broke away from each other and looked to the brunette man, something that didn't look very much like the beautiful blonde girl at all.

Next to her father was a man who seemed to be amused by something, only a few years older than her to his eyes. He was much unlike Tyler in the way that he could never be simply described as _pretty_, or clean—the man was rough in a way that could only be described as sexy, different than anyone the blonde girl had ever seen.

He was tall, with skin only a tone less light than Caroline's, his face lightly lined with a light brown stubble that matched his curly hair that made him only more sexy to Caroline, thoughts Caroline shouldn't have had with someone like Tyler in her life, but thoughts hard to avert.

The next thing she noticed about the man were his eyes, a clear, light shade blue that looked like a crystalline lake, compelling and disorienting at the same time. He gave her half a smile when he saw her admiring gaze, and she quickly looked back to her father.

"Why not?" She asked, finally processing her father's words.

"You'll be wed to Niklaus Mikaelson as of the first of April."

_The first of April was less than two months._

She had less than two months before she'd be separated from the love of her life and wed to this mysteriously alluring man.

**I've had this idea for a while, and I've never written anything for Klaroline (aka my OTP) and wanted to give it a go.**

**I've missed Klaroline too much—even though they're not cannon, I ship Mabekah and Klaroline more than anything.**

**Question Of The Day:**

**Who is your OTP?**

**M**y **r**e**v**i**e**w **b**o**x **i**s **h**u**n**g**r**y**—**f**e**e**d **i**t**!**!**!**


	2. 02

**Authors Note | Thank you to anyone who reviewed, favorited, or alerted—they're a huge motivation to write more or continue a story. If you have any questions, remember that you can just ask in the reviews.**

**Disclaimer | I do not own the Vampire Diaries. I only own the plot.**

Caroline felt dizzy, and she was fairly sure her lightheadedness wasn't due to the gentle movement of the stagecoach she was sitting in, owned by the rich man who was now her betrothed.

He was watching her; she was watching her gloved hands in her lap, tugging at the red fabric of the thick gown, one of the gowns she favored less than her others, her fingers curling around the fabric of her dress as she looked out of the window of the stagecoach.

"Easy, love. You don't need to rip off your clothes just yet." She noticed Niklaus Mikaelson spoke with an accent, sounding like he was from England. She found it a bit strange that her father would pick a suitor for her from so far away, but she doubted William Forbes cared about much more than how wealthy he was—extremely, she noticed, by the looks of his clothes and the stagecoach. She had never ridden in one prior, but it was difficult to concentrate on the glamour of the contraption.

_What will Tyler say? _

"I'm not _planning_ on disrobing for you, now or ever."

"Ever is a bit harsh."

"The truth is hard."

Klaus chuckled softly when she snapped at him, seemingly amused by her anger towards him. She didn't have a clue what was so amusing about having a betrothed that hated him, but she doubted anyone so extraordinarily beautiful as him could be completely usual in any way.

_Extraordinarily beautiful?_

She shook her head as though shaking the thoughts came across her mind, followed by the wonder of is his lips were rough as the rest of his ruggedly sexy features.

"So, how much did you buy me for?"

"Pardon?"

"_How much_ did you buy me for, Niklaus?"

"Klaus, please."

"Just answer the damned question!" Caroline pounded her fist against the velvet seats of the stagecoach a single time, her blue eyes licked by flames of icy fire. He only chuckled again, shaking his head.

"Love, I didn't _buy_ you."

"What?"

"I didn't buy you—your father asked me if I would take your hand in marriage, and I accepted."

"Then take it back!"

"I can't do that, love."

"Don't _love_ me—take it back!"

"I already told you that I couldn't."

"Why the hell not?"

"There's no need to become angry, Caroline—your father told me you would rebel against the offer, and he told me not to let you refuse."

"Well, I _want _to refuse, so why won't you let me?"

"Because I believe a woman so beautiful as yourself doesn't belong on the streets."

"Elena said she'd take me."

"And what about your boyfriend? You need someone to marry, and he's rejected you time and time again, love."

Caroline's head snapped towards the attractive man, ignoring his annoying habit of calling her 'love' or the small smile that was on his face, and the smile that had been on his face since she had met the Mikaelson.

"How do you know Tyler?"

He paused for only a moment, looking to be stilled into silence, grasping for an answer to her demand. "He's a friend of mine."

"I said, _how_ do you know my boyfriend, and what makes you think he doesn't want to marry me?"

Again, his words seemed to be crafted carefully.

"My family has been associated with the Lockwoods for a great deal of time, and he's always been one of my friends. Is something so wrong with that?"

"_Klaus._"

"Patience, love. I just assumed—he had told me every time you asked to run away with him, or asked to marry or move in with him, and I can guess that he's said no by the position we're in now."

"Tyler would never tell anyone that."

"Then how would I know, love? I can't read minds."

"Even if he has told you, wouldn't that be enough to avert you from marrying me? I assumed that you wouldn't be so low to purposely take a woman away from a friend as close as you claim to be to him, but then again, I'm a horrible judge of character."

"How about I'll make you a deal?" There was a devilish glint of mischief in his clear blue eyes, something that disconcerted her and swayed her at the same time. "I'll let you go with all the money you need _if_ Tyler proposes to you within the month."

"And if he doesn't?"

"You'll marry me without any more argument."

Caroline let her blue eyes meet his light ones levelly, holding out a hand, bare from taking her gloves off earlier. He caught her hand with his own, incredibly warm in hers, and shook her hand lightly.

She moved to pull the hand away, but she was trapped by his grip, somehow managing to be firm and gentle. He pulled her hand up to his lips, lightly placing a kiss on her knuckles, sending a spark of numbness at the place where his lips connected with her hand.

His lips were soft, plusher than she had remembered anyone's lips to be against her lips or anywhere else on her body.

She never knew her hands could be so sensitive.

**.:.**

The Mikaelson mansion was larger than that of anyone she had ever seen, and much busier than she had imagined as well. She had imagined possibly a pair of parents, a few servants at most, but she was soon overwhelmed by the people inside the mansion.

She noticed the blonde girl first, a pretty girl with curly hair that treated her with a scowl immediately. "Rebekah," Klaus had whispered to her, leaving the dollish blonde girl to only toss her hair over her shoulder and give Caroline a dirty look.

The second face she saw was a man a bit shorter than Klaus, seeming a bit kinder than the blonde girl. Klaus told her lowly his name was Elijah, and he instead gave her a smile, much different than who she assumed to be his sister.

There were a few dozen maids, all running about the room and trying to either clean or tend to one of the Mikaelson sons or daughter.

She saw a more familiar face, and Caroline looked to the brunette girl more confused.

"Elena?"

"Guess again, little girl."

Caroline blinked at the girl, identical to her friend in every way they could be—the only difference in the two were their hair and clothes, but even the cut of hair was similar. The girl on the couch had on a dress much lower than anything Caroline's friend would wear, but it didn't convince her.

"My name is Katherine." Her pupils seemed to enlarge as she spoke, spreading a lulled calm over the blonde. "I'm _not_ Elena; I'm not her sister. You will not mention me to anyone."

Caroline blinked at the girl a few times, feeling a bit confused as to what had happened before smiling calmly at the girl who looked like her best friend in a way ordinary to Caroline.

"Katherine, was that necessary?" Klaus looked back towards the brunette girl, she only shrugging.

"You never know."

Caroline frowned at the exchange, a bit strange to the human girl. Katherine only made a sound of annoyance when Caroline looked at her.

_She doesn't belong here._ Katherine's brown eyes were hard on Caroline, trying to ignore the human girl. She chose the shorter brother, taking Elijah by the hand and pulling him out of the room and into some odd bedroom, a room one of his brothers had lived in before he had died.

Katherine slammed Elijah against the wall, satisfied when she felt the crack of the brick behind him splitting as she pushed him, kissing him near—violently. Elijah responded by instantaneously taking the both of them to the bed, setting her on the bed too gently for her forte.

He was always gentle with her; she user her heightened strength to be rough with her favorite of the Mikaelson brothers.

She used him as an outlet for any anger or sadness she had—she would never admit to herself that she needed him possibly more than she let herself believe,

She didn't want to feel dependant on him; she didn't want to feel like she needed him.

Katherine knew that he wouldn't return her weakness of loving him if she admitted it to herself so she made it to herself that she didn't care for him. She pushed her emotions away whenever with him, especially in moments like this.

He pinned her arms back, the other hand going down to rest on her curved hips.

Even Elijah wasn't always gentle.

**.:.**

Caroline was washing her hands in a powder room attached to her bedroom, much too large and isolated for her taste. She found herself lost more times than she'd like to admit trying to find her way to the room, far from everything but Klaus' room across the hallway from hers, something she was annoyed by, but she was grateful that she wouldn't have to room with the girl who had already made it clear that she hated Caroline.

She had found herself lost in too many ways in the hours she had been in the house like a maze—she was both lost within the hallways and within her mind, drowning in confusion as her eyes flickered over and about the walls of the mansion as she walked.

She had too many questions to ask; impossible for them all to answer, but the wonder that plagued her the most was _how_ the family lacking a single adult had acquired so much money. She had learned already the home was only owned by Rebekah, Elijah, Klaus, and wandered by a Katherine Pierce who liked to court both Elijah and the more attractive male servants.

Katherine was the perfect picture of Elena, but they acted more different than any two could—Katherine was loose and spoke her mind, feisty, impolite, and fast. Elena was always reserved, kind, gratuitous, and loving. Caroline couldn't imagine Elena following a single one of the identical girls habits, but Caroline was have troubles thinking of much other than why all of the family acted so mysteriously, _especially_ the one she was engaged to marry.

She wasn't close to caring for any of them, but she was falling deeper into curiosity with their scattered words or conversations.

She turned the water off, looking up into the mirror to see if her hair had fallen out of place or if she was missing a mirror.

A beautiful, dark skinned brunette was looking back at her.

Bonnie Bennett.

Caroline could only shriek, throwing herself back against the wall opposing her as her chest rise and fell heavily, her heartbeat pounding through her ears loudly as her hands went for the doorknob, her eyes fixated on the image of the girl she had been close to since she could hardly run.

"Caroline, be careful." The Bennett girl's voice was almost fearful, but it was filled with a panicked urgency that stilled Caroline from leaving.

"Bonnie?"

"Caroline, you _can't_ trust them. The Mikaelson's aren't safe. Get out of there."

"Bonnie—"

"_Caroline_. You're not safe."

"Bonnie, what are you talking about?"

The door opened to a concerned Klaus, frowning at the girl who had recently screamed. The image of Bonnie looking back at her in the mirror left as soon as Klaus entered, and he knelt down to the blonde girl who had slid to the ground in terror, face buried into her knees.

"It's all right, love. I won't let anyone hurt you."

**.:.**

**This was a fast update—I love this story so far, and I have more than a few ideas for it.**

**To anyone who celebrates Thanksgiving, Happy Turkey Day!**

**Question Of The Day:**

**What is your favorite book series?**

**M**y **r**e**v**i**e**w **b**o**x **i**s** h**u**n**g**r**y**—**f**e**e**d it**!**!**!**


	3. 03

**Authors Note | Thank-you to anyone who reviewed or followed c:**

**Disclaimer | I do not own Vampire Diaries**

.:.

Caroline Forbes had always hated feeling lonely or bored, her avid mind constantly needing to be occupied by _something_, that something usually her friends or Tyler Lockwood.

She loved being with people–she felt calmer when she was by a crowd, and felt more settled when she had an outsider's pressure placed on her to be perfect. She loved feeling eyes on her, and she loved any form of attention in a way that made it near torturous for her to endure silence or emptiness in any way, shape, or form.

She had always been restless, and staying put was torturous to her.

Caroline didn't stay still for too long–she was determined to find some source of amusement in the unfamiliar home, and she became bored easily with whatever source of entertainment she would come upon.

Thinking was too gruesome–her every thought led to either _why_ her father would sell her so quickly, why Tyler was so busy on that evening, or why she saw Bonnie in the mirror of her bathroom.

She had always hated reading–she became easily bored with literature, and didn't understand how to 'slip into the mind of the character', or whatever Elena had always tried to feed her about reading. She didn't read if she didn't have to, and avoided books like the bubonic plague.

Caroline had never been much of a sleeper, either–she slept at night when she had to, but sleeping before ten was impossible for her, and even then the transition between waking and sleeping was painfully boring.

She had always been the one to wander off, always looking about her surroundings and losing herself in her explorations, what she soon decided as the best activity for her to spend her time in.

She hated following rules, and though staying put wasn't a boundary placed on her, she still found it as a law to go against.

Her blood red dressed swirled around her lithe legs as she walked, quietly letting her heavy door fall shut as she slid into the hallway, feeling the cold air hit her hard as she smiled, a glint of something excited gleaming in her pure blue eyes. She was silent as she passed by Klaus' room, her heels knocking the ground with only the faintest of sounds.

She didn't know too well where she was going, but she was bored, so she felt reason enough to keep walking when she heard footsteps behind her, footsteps that didn't belong to anyone she saw when she turned.

She found the Mikaelson mansion unnecessarily complicated, coming upon staircases and hidden rooms with every turn of the twisted halls. The further she came into the house, the more complex it grew. She walked until her feet hurt, stopped only by a staircase winding downwards, marking a dead end for going forwards, but an entrance to go down.

She felt the urge to go back, but instead, she decided to go down.

.:.

Klaus hated being interrupted while painting.

Rebekah caused frequent distractions, always asking where something was or if he would quit being boring and go out and _do something_ with her–doing something, he knew, meant killing someone. He wasn't against killing anyone in the slightest, but doing so with his younger sister, a girl who transitioned nearly every day from loving to hating him, was annoying to say the least.

The small room was a sort of sanctuary for Klaus–he kept and worked on all his artwork in the room, and liked to keep his work to himself. He hated pestering eyes, and felt the urge to slam someone's head into the wall when they would come and nag him.

He had done the same more than a few times to maids, but he had cleaned away the bloodstains long ago.

The urge to crash a head into a wall stilted when he saw the beautiful blonde girl looking around the room, startled by his presence as though he was the one who had come into her room.

"Klaus–what are you doing here?"

"Well, this _is _my house, and this is my favorite room." He smiled softly at the curious girl, setting down his paintbrush carelessly and turning to look at the girl. She was more fixated on his works than she was in watching him, and he laughed softly as she rolled her eyes.

"Your favorite room is where you've tacked off unnecessarily expensive paintings you've bought at some weird art gallery and hung them on a wall?"

"Of course not, love; I stole them."

"What?" Her eyes widened, turning back quickly to him as though he had confessed to murdering her pet horse. Klaus laughed at her alarm towards his false confession, and shook his head.

"Klaus, this isn't fun–"

"I was joking, Caroline."

"Then where did you get them?" She looked more closely at the paintings, her eyes then falling on the half-finished one lying on the canvas. "Wait, did you paint these?"

"Don't be so surprised, love–buying off women is only a hobby, not my only activity."

The blonde girl looked annoyed again, making a noise of disgust as she tossed her head, looking back to a different painting in an overly-obvious point of showing him that she was annoyed with him, making him only laugh more.

He wasn't sure why the little blonde girl amused him so much–he had always been so used to having everything handed to him, and Caroline's resistance was something that still hadn't ceased to amuse him.

"Stop laughing."

"I'm not laughing."

"Yes you are!" Caroline said, frustrated. He forced his laughter into a grin, and the blonde girl groaned in annoyance, leaning against the door.

"I'm sorry."

"Well, you're not forgiven." It was obvious that the blonde girl was hiding a smile of her own, but she held away any amusement well so that she could hold the façade of being endlessly annoyed by the attractive man, still smiling.

"I'm sorry, love. Is there anything I can do?" His voice was mocking, but in a way that was more teasing than the cruel tone he used to most people around him, a voice that surprised even him.

"You can go away."

"In my own room?"

Caroline only pretended to ignore him, still leaning against the door as she shifted positions, her elbow lightly moving the gold-plated doorknob, twisting it lightly enough to let the door fall open behind her, swinging her backwards.

With speed he never used near humans he wasn't planning on killing, he twisted himself to her and caught her only moments after she could register she was falling, leaving the human girl looking into his warm blue eyes, bewildered.

"How–"

"I don't want my fiancé dying, do I?" He asked, a mysterious smile spreading over his attractive features. He pulled her back onto her feet before offering his leanly muscled arm to her, his smile not fading. "Come on. It's dinner time."

.:.

Rebekah offered the blonde girl with a glare upon seeing her, rolling her eyes when theirs came into contact and playing with her food, pushing the shrimp about her plate with her fork rather than opting to stare at the girl about to wed into their family.

The girl who looked like Elena was watching Caroline blatantly as though the girl was a different species, looking both curious and accusing, in a way. Her eyes flickered up and down the blonde girl, a smirk on her face she would never imagine to be on Elena's face. Elena had always been sweet or innocent, the golden girl, and would never say an insulting word to anyone. The habit of being always kind annoyed Caroline at times, but it was what made her _Elena_.

Elijah, the one who had treated her with the most kindness thus far, was watching Katherine as though she was a sort of trophy, some prize he wished to but would never be able to attain. It was the way she remembered Jeremy had looked at Bonnie before they fell in love with each other, and realized they were in love.

Caroline pulled herself off of Klaus' arm, slipping into an empty seat one away from Elijah, Klaus sitting in between the two with a small grin on his face, looking closer to a smirk than a true smile.

Caroline crossed her legs underneath the table, able to feel the stares of Katherine, Rebekah, and Klaus burning on her fair skin. She stayed focused on unfolding her napkin, taking much longer than she needed to spread the cloth over her lap.

"Having fun there?" Katherine asked, her gaze disorienting Caroline. The blonde girl only rolled her eyes at the girl who looked so similar to Elena, finding the blatant gaze a bit rude.

"Haven't you ever heard it isn't polite to stare?" A startled laugh came from Klaus, and she could imagine that this girl wasn't too used to criticisms or insults, and Caroline's small hit came as a shock to the family.

"Excuse me?"

"I just assumed you had learned your manners, but I'd be more than happy to teach you how to properly chew your food."

"And I could teach you how to watch your mouth." Katherine seemed ready to stand and do _something_, but she was stopped by Elijah's hand on her leg, keeping her down so that she wouldn't be able to try and finish whatever she was about to stop. Katherine looked towards him, and they seemed to have a silent conversation before she pulled herself back into an average sitting position, rolling her eyes in the way she had done so many times that day already.

"What's her deal?" Caroline asked Klaus, and he chuckled softly, taking a small sip of the clear liquid that looked to be more like vodka than water.

"She doesn't like being…crossed. You should lock your doors when you sleep tonight, love." The look on his face was amused, but the smallest flicker of something in his eyes made him look like he was only partway joking.

"I'll be sure to bolt my windows." Caroline stated simply, taking a small sip of the substance she was now sure was vodka.

They began eating shortly after her statement was offered, and she noticed quickly that Katherine, Elijah, and Rebekah were incredibly slow eaters. They looked bored with their food, engaging in conversations confusing to Caroline rather than fueling themselves on the food.

Klaus was an exception to this, but Caroline felt annoyed by the way he ate–he looked somehow flawless even while he ate, flawlessly perfect in a way that made Caroline want to punch him.

It was all infuriating to her–his elegance in movements; his smooth, accented way of speaking; his height and frame; his speed; his quick wits. He was too perfect, and he was always so fluid in everything he did. He moved with perfect posture, and he smiled easily, acting as though much of what he heard was some sort of joke.

She wanted to punch him or tear her hair out more when she realized she was the one staring this time, and he was watching her stare with the amused smile he always had on his face.

"What are you smiling about?"

"You."

"Why?" Caroline asked, frustrated. She groaned as he laughed at her annoyance, going back to her food quickly and focusing on cutting her steak, stopped by a maid who came up behind her, took the knife, and cut her food for her.

"My God, don't you do anything around here?"

"We hire the maids."

"I meant real work."

"Of course we do–Katherine hates having any blood on her hands, so she sends Elijah and I about town to take care of her personal, petty chores."

"I doubt you have anything you could do that you couldn't with one of your servants."

"They're maids, love; not servants, and there's a world of a mess that none of our housekeepers could ever clean up."

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Oh, Caroline. I believe you'll find out soon enough."

.:.

Caroline hadn't seen Bonnie and Elena for what seemed to her like ages, so she was more than thrilled when the two girls showed up on the Mikaelson doorstep and invited themselves in.

"Elena! Bonnie!"

Caroline was ready to hug her friends, paused by the look both scared and confused that had flickered across both of their faces.

"Who is that?" Elena asked, her soft brown eyes settling on Katherine. The girl identical to her friend only smirked, playing with her hands as she watched Elena.

"I'm Katherine–haven't you mentioned me, Carrie?"

"Caroline." Caroline snapped quickly, unsure how to address Elena.

"What–are you my sister, or something? I don't understand."

"No, I'm not. I'd shoot myself if you were."

"Then who are you?"

Katherine's pupils seemed to widen as she held Elena's gaze, "I'm no one special. There's no need to tell anyone about the woman who looks like you."

Elena nodded slightly, shaking her head after a moment of the strange trance and looking back to Caroline.

"So, this is your new home?"

"Hopefully, not for long." The thought of Tyler crossed her mind, making her stomach feel knotted. _Hopefully_.

.:.

**Question Of The Day:**

**What is your favorite quote from any show or book?**

ღ

"If you die, I will literally go out of my freaking mind."

_–Stiles Stilinski to Lydia Martin_

ღ

**M**y **r**e**v**i**e**w **b**o**x **i**s** h**u**n**g**r**y**–**f**e**e**d **i**t**!**!**!**


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